Kevin Walters won a World Cup final for Australia with a famous pass as a player and now is "proud" he gets to coach the Kangaroos on the three-Test tour of England.
Walters, 57, replaces new Perth Bears coach Mal Meninga in the role on a 12-month contract and said he had put aspirations to coach in the NRL again on hold in 2026.
"Certainly. At the moment, my focus is the Kangaroos," Walters said.
"I want to do a great job there with the Ashes series. It's a big job.
"It's a 12-month contract so it's the opportune time for me to come in and get some hard work done and then prepare these guys for what will be a very tough series.
"When that phone call came to ask if I would be interested in coaching the Kangaroos, the hairs on the back of my neck really stood up and bristled.
"As a kid, you dream about ... playing for the Kangaroos, which I was fortunate enough to achieve, and now to be given the opportunity to coach them, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Walters coached Queensland to two State of Origin series wins out of four and was at the helm of Brisbane when they reached the 2023 grand final before being sacked at the end of the following year.
If successful on the Ashes tour there is a strong chance he would be retained for next year's World Cup to be hosted in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Walters played 12 Tests for Australia and was a hero of the 1992 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium. The Kangaroos were trailing 6-4 when Walters came off the bench to throw a classic "out ball" to his Brisbane teammate Steve Renouf who scored the match winner in 10-6 win.
Former NSW coach Brad Fittler turned down the opportunity to replace Meninga while former Kangaroos coach and current South Sydney mentor Wayne Bennett was ruled out of contention by the Commission due to his club responsibilities.
Former Australia captain Cameron Smith told 100% Footy on Monday night that despite being interested in the coaching role, he was not given the opportunity to present his case.
He did receive notification from ARLC chairman Peter V'landys that Walters had got the job.
"He gave me a phone call to let me know the decision was made to go with Kev and that was about it," Smith said.
"I'm happy with that decision, I respect that decision.
"If I had an opportunity to put my case forward I would've but the decision was made by the game's hierarchy to go with Kevvie and I think it's a great appointment."
During the conversation Smith said V'landys spoke about a possible assistant role.
"That could be something to look at but I've not had any further discussions with Peter or Andrew Abdo or anyone in the NRL about that," he said.
Walters said a possible role for Smith on the coaching staff was "something that we'll have to have a look at".
"I'm not sure of Cameron's position at the moment and what he wants to do but he's been a great leader for the Kangaroos and I have worked with Smithy as a captain-coach relationship with the Queensland team for a few years," Walters said.
"We've got a good relationship. I'll get my feet under the desk first. There's a lot of decisions to be made around staff. Certainly, we'll look at that in the next couple of days."
